


Mirrors and magic

by AnotherSideAnotherStory



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, The Hobbit (Jackson Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Mirror of Erised
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-23
Updated: 2019-02-23
Packaged: 2019-11-04 11:30:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17897612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnotherSideAnotherStory/pseuds/AnotherSideAnotherStory
Summary: The Arkenstone will only return to those who seek it with a clear heart and mind.





	Mirrors and magic

**Author's Note:**

> This is a super weird au. I don't really know what's going on here. Just go with it.

Hidden somewhere deep in the mountain, far off the beaten path, stands an ornate mirror. Some say it was a gift from a wizard to King Thror, to celebrate his ascent to the throne. Others say it was a curse, intended to possess the hearts and minds of any who gaze upon it. Regardless of what was said about it, only the line of Durin knew the truth.

Many years ago, a man claiming to be a wizard showed up at the gates of Erebor asking to speak with the new king. He said he’d traveled a great distance and that it was imperative that he meet with Thror in private. Of course, Thror would not meet with him alone, but he and his advisors listened patiently to what he had to say, curious about this “treasure”.

The man spoke of the dangers looking at this mirror would cause, and he warned against using it for extended lengths of time. He asked that Thror keep it safe and away from the masses. The dwarf king agreed, and they searched Erebor for a good place to keep the mirror.

For a few months, Thror thought nothing of the mirror or the strange man who brought it. He would glance at it in passing, seeing only the reflection of the gold and jewels surrounding it. It seemed the wizard had been lying about any special properties the mirror had, and was looking to burden someone else with his unwanted junk. Then came the day that the Arkenstone was stolen.

The king was enraged by the idea that a thief was among his people. He became belligerent and would lash out at those who came near him. He ordered that the city be searched high and low, and that the guilty dwarf be executed. Angrily, he paced the private family stores, each pass bringing him closer to that damned mirror. Finally he was close enough to see his own reflection grinning at him.

Intrigued, he stopped and turned fully towards it. The reflection’s grin widened, and slowly it drew the Arkenstone out from behind it’s back. Thror turned quickly to search behind himself, but the stone was nowhere to be found. His anger only grew, and he began throwing everything in his sight, desperate to find the precious gem and return it to its place in the throne.

Every day, Thror would visit the mirror, and every day the reflection would tease him with his precious Arkenstone. In a matter of weeks, the king had gone from a gentle dwarf to a muttering shell of his former self. He could not see that he had changed, that his son Thrain had begun to worry about his sanity. His only concern was the Arkenstone, and the mysterious reflection.

Eventually, Thrain took his father’s place as ruler of Erebor, at the insistence of the dwarf council. His people needed a king they could count on, and his son Thorin needed an example of what a true king was supposed to be. On a smaller scale, he continued the search for the stone, but he shifted his focus to the wellbeing of his people.

Years passed, and the stone was still lost. Thrain started to become desperate. The Arkenstone was the centerpiece of the mountain, and the country. He too began to visit the private family stores, to seek out his father for answers he knew wouldn’t come.

He was immediately drawn to the mirror, his reflection outright laughing at him. The Arkenstone lay in it’s hand, but Thrain could not reach it. He faintly remembered warnings of the lies this mirror told, but his desperation silenced these memories. He stood there for days, seeking a way to retrieve the stone from himself.

In Thrain’s absence, the wizard returned. He was not alone, this time accompanied by a halfling, timid and small. He spoke to Thorin, son of Thrain, and he and the hobbit were shown to the private stores.

Both Thror and Thrain ignored the newcomers, so entranced in their search for the stone that they did not see them. Silently, the hobbit stepped up to the mirror, and felt a sudden weight in his pocket. He watched, confused, as the reflection reached into his pocket and withdrew a shiny jewel he’d never seen before. The other hobbit looked at the dwarves in the room, sighing heavily before nodding to Bilbo.

Bilbo took the stone out of his pocket and handed it to Thror. The dwarf lit up in awe of his precious gem, and for the first time in nearly a decade, his eyes began to see clearly. He and Thrain both seemed to wake up, the curse of the mirror fading from them. Thror expressed his deepest gratitude to the wizard and the halfling, promising to shower them both in riches, but the wizard politely refused. Instead he offered to remove the mirror, claiming he was suddenly in need of it, and he, the hobbit, and the mirror disappeared on the spot, never to return to the mountain.


End file.
